Call “Belgian Italian Textile Design Drinks & Conversations”.
Designregio Kortrijk and Fedustria are jointly organizing the Belgian Italian Textile Design Drinks & Talks. The talks give Belgian textile companies and designers the opportunity to pitch an innovative case to the Italian textile sector in a unique, customized setting of Belgian textiles.
Reason
Fedustria is betting more and more on new trends as Belgian textile companies experience a lot of challenges: the demand for alternative materials (e.g. hemp), the search for circular working, the need for outdoor applications, etc. In talks last year during Fedustria's visit to the Proposte fair in Como, and also from the talks by Designregio Kortrijk (DRK) and Como, both cities recognised by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (design and folk arts & crafts respectively), we make the same observations among Northern Italian textile companies.
Yet we also see bright spots of innovation among the Belgian textile industry, for instance experiments with hemp as an alternative to flax. But these examples thus remain few.
Objectives
The “Belgian Italian Textile Design Drinks & Talks” highlight innovations from the Belgian textile industry in one of the world's most renowned textile regions: Como, Northern Italy.
- We wish to generate an open mindset among textile manufacturers;
- We wish to give exposure to textile experiments of existing materials and products;
- We put Belgian textile companies on the world map as creative and innovative;
- We attract young promising creative talent to our textile sector.
Partners
To positively position Belgian textile companies internationally and at the same time inspire them in their quest for innovation, Designregio Kortrijk (DRK), Fedustria, Como Creative City of Crafts & Folk Arts and Camera di Commercio Como-Lecco are happy to join forces.
Fedustria has the network of textile companies. DRK has the network of designers, and coordinating projects in which companies and designers work together and position themselves positively internationally as innovation leaders. (including in Lithuania, Spain). Como Creative City and Camera di Commercio Como-Lecco have the network of Italian textile companies and designers, and know the Northern Italian textile agenda of events and happenings.
Approach
In the fall of 2024 we would like to positively address the Belgian textile industry at 2 events with Belgian best practices and a creative installation, nationally at the WONDER Creativity Festival in October in Kortrijk, and internationally at the Belgian Italian Textile Design Drinks & Talks in November in Como.
Are you a Belgian textile company interested in participating? On May 1, 2024 we open the call to Belgian textile companies to provide materials to design and build a creative installation. The materials are preferably residual streams.
DRK will match these materials with a textile designer who will use them to build a creative installation.
Circularity will be an important theme in the development of this creative installation: the installation uses existing materials or residual waste or is recyclable. The installation will also be modular and remountable for other venues and events. This positive, innovative and international exposure can thus eventually lead to more innovation among our Belgian textile companies and thus put Belgium on the world map as an innovative region.
We will show this installation to the general public:
- at the WONDER Creativity Festival in late October-early November in Kortrijk;
- at a textile event in November in Como.
In Como, we will organize the Belgian Italian Textile Design Drinks & Talks in November, with Belgian and Italian textile companies and designers. This way, we stimulate international networking and put Belgian textiles in a positive light. At this event, we will also have a Belgian textile entrepreneur and designer pitch about innovative best practices.
We aim for residuals from max. 2 companies. The selection will be made by DRK and Fedustria. To this end, we will consider the following criteria: availability of the material, workability of the material, complementarity of the materials. Based on the selected materials, DRK will match you with a textile designer.
Timeline
- 01/05/2024 Call open
- 15/06/2024 Call closing
- June Selection of textile companies
- June-July Matching with designer
- August-September Construction of the creative installation
- October Presentation in Kortrijk at WONDER Creativity Festival
- November Presentation in Como with the Belgian Italian Textile Design Drinks & Talks
Would you like to participate?
Then express your interest to Daphne Renier and Stijn Debaillie.Budget
Thanks to the support of the Federal Government, we can offer the following:
- cost of the designers for designing and building the creative installation,
- communication about the progress and result of the collaborations,
- shipping of the installation to Italy and back,
- travel expenses of the participating textile companies and designers in Como
The participation for the textile companies in this project is thus free. However, we would like to ask for the following commitments:
- provision of materials and/or residuals,
- time to consult with the designer,
- time to travel to Como in November to pitch to the Northern Italian textile industry,
- communicate the project in your networks
Contact information
Stijn Debaillie, Coördinator Designregio Kortrijk, stijn@designregio-kortrijk.be, +32 474 93 02 95
Daphne Renier, Productmanager Fedustria, daphne.renier@fedustria.be, +32 496 27 97 37N
After
We see this project as an opportunity to understand the innovation challenges of the Belgian textile industry and identify where we can leverage the united forces in expertise and creative network of Fedustria and Designregio Kortrijk. To this end, we will set up another roundtable in December 2024.
Picture: Atelier Leda, picture by Jonas Verbeke
